23-25 July, SkyCity, Auckland

Lianne Dalziel

Hon Lianne Dalziel (LLB) was first elected as the Mayor of Christchurch in October 2013, after serving for 23 years in the New Zealand Parliament, and re-elected as Mayor in October 2016.

Lianne served as a Cabinet Minister in the 5th Labour Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Rt. Hon Helen Clark (1999-2008). During that time she held a number of portfolios, including Immigration, Commerce, Food Safety, Women's Affairs and Senior Citizens. After the change in government in 2008, she was elected to chair the Commerce Select Committee where she oversaw the completion of the regulation of the non-bank finance sector, which she had started as Minister of Commerce.

During her first term as Mayor of Christchurch, Lianne forged a strong working relationship with central Government which laid the foundation for the transition back to local leadership. Lianne has been a strong supporter of regional partnerships and collaboration amongst strategic partners including Ngai Tahu and the neighbouring district councils during her first term as Mayor, an area she intends to build on during her second term.

Lianne is a champion of community engagement and participatory democracy, and considers that enabling communities to connect with each other and participate in decision-making is a key responsibility of local government leaders. Lianne has set this as her top priority this term.

Lianne was the MP for Christchurch East at the time of the Canterbury Earthquakes. She played a key role in ensuring her constituents had access to accurate information and that their concerns were communicated to decision-makers. This work led to her being invited in 2012 to join UNISDR's Advisory Group of Parliamentarians for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Lianne believes that there is much that can be learned from the Christchurch experience which is why she wants to be part of the LGNZ National Council, so that these lessons can be shared and any future city or district will be better prepared should a disaster occur.

Lianne is also a champion of resilience, having actively promoted Christchurch's membership of the 100 Resilient Cities Network pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Since becoming Mayor, Lianne has been active in seeking to communicate the lessons of the Christchurch experience, including through a number of international events including the 2014 Understanding Risk Forum in London, the 2015 UN 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan and the 2016 Structural Engineers Association of California Convention.